D.C. bans ‘bison,’ ‘Barack’ from license plates

WASHINGTON – Every state that issues license plates prohibits various combinations of letters. The District’s process is no different.

In D.C., you cannot get a license plate that might offend, such as “BIRDPOO,” “EZKILLER” or “REEFER.” Some plates are banned, perhaps, because they might confuse people about the driver behind the wheel. So “FBI,” “FBICAR” and “ADMIRAL” are out.

But thumbing through the 55-page list of prohibited D.C. plate combinations — made available to governmentattic.org through a Freedom of Information Act request — might leave you wondering exactly what the problem is.

What’s wrong with a license plate reading “ALLBULL”? And why in the world is the license plate “FREEDOM” not allowed in the nation’s capital? For that matter, what’s wrong with “VETERAN” and “ENDWAR”?

If you’re a Redskins or Ravens fan, you can only wish for a license plate that reads “REDSKINS” or “RAVENS.” Both are prohibited, and so are “LUVNATS” and “NATFAN.”

“REDSOX,” “CUBSFAN” and “SNDIEGO” are banned, and so are “BNCUTE,” “SEX” and “HOORAH.”

The bison is depicted on the nickel, but you can’t have “BISON” on your D.C. plate.

Also banned are “BARACK” and “BUSH1.”

There’s always so much talk in Washington about the endgame. But if you want “ENDGAME” on your D.C. plate, forget about it.

See the rest of the banned license plates in the embedded document below: